The Boston Celtics head coach, who has been open about his faith, took another bold stance after his team won the NBA championship on Monday night. During a postgame interview, he wore a faith-themed T-shirt and told one interviewer, “God put us here for a reason.” Second-year head coach Joseph Mazzulla led the Celtics to a 106–88 victory over Dallas to clinch the team’s 18th NBA championship and first in 16 years, making Mazzulla the youngest winning coach since 1970 at age 35.
Mazzulla’s strong faith in Christ has often led to some high-profile moments, like when asked if he met any members of the British royal family during Prince William’s visit to a game last season, to which Mazzulla replied, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph? There’s only one royal family I know.”
On Monday, Mazzulla wore a likely talking point in his postgame interview in a white T-shirt that read, in all capital letters, “BUT FIRST I THANK GOD.” By Tuesday morning, a similar T-shirt was already for sale on a clothing website.
“But first… I want to thank God.”
Joe Mazzulla in his post-game championship shirt 🏆
(via Tomer Atherly) pic.twitter.com/g7yY28w1wz
— Clutch Points (@ClutchPoints) June 18, 2024
Mazzulla told NBA TV that he shared a faith-filled message with Celtics star Jayson Tatum before the game.
“I told him, ‘Believe,’ God put us here for a reason. We’ve all been through things. Obviously the circumstances under which we got this job were not good,” Mazzulla said, referring to his hiring as head coach when his predecessor, Ime Udoka, was suspended for violating team rules.
“But we are exactly where we are meant to be, and God always leads us to where we are, so we just have to be patient, take our time, and use all the pain and hardships we’ve had in life to prepare for the next opportunity,” Mazzulla said.
“If we spend so much time worrying about the opportunity that we forget about the lessons we’ve learned from the past, then we just have to come together and use those lessons to serve the opportunity. I always told him, ‘Look, we might not win this year, but at the end of the day, are we on our way to the process? Do we have the belief? Can we rely on the belief? And are we exactly where we need to be? And are we doing what we need to be doing? That’s the most important thing.'”
Coach Mazzulla remained humble at the post-match press conference and expressed his gratitude to his former coaching staff.
“The foundation that they built when they were younger, the foundation that we have, is one of the reasons we’re here today,” he said. “… Just because we won this doesn’t mean what those who came before us accomplished isn’t just as important.”
Really enjoyed the Celtics win. My childhood team is on top again. Congrats to Coach Mazzulla and the team. His shirt says it all. ☘️🏀 pic.twitter.com/SCtoIChYUQ
— Jesse Bradley (@JesseJBradley) June 18, 2024
In 2023 he Sports Spectrum Podcast He tries to model his leadership style after Jesus.
“What resonates with me the most is his leadership style and the kind of person he was,” Mazzulla said in 2023. “… Regardless of everything else, there’s a reason why people are still talking about him 2023 years later: He did the right thing,” Mazzulla said on the podcast. “It’s fun just to learn from the leadership values.”
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Mike Lawrie/Staff
Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
